dullsville

Monday, January 10 2005

saw "House of Flying Daggers" w/ a friend on sunday night, it was alright i guess. action was fine, found the romance extremely sappy though...like the part at the end - can we seriously die already? guess i'm a party pooper for those who appreciate the "artsy fartsy-ness" of these kind of films, i'm just too stuck on realism i guess. real life is strange enough as it is.

bloody BCIT went on STRIKE so i haven't had any work assignments and probably won't for a while. out of boredom, decided to finally ride the new Millenium Line part of the Skytrain so i can say that i've actually been on it now. rode out to Lougheed Town Centre; walked around n got me some pizza, a Batman t-shirt (yes a Batman t-shirt, i think i had one like it when i was a kid, only $8!), then rode the rails till they looped around back to Royal Oak n walked home.

aside from rotting at home, i've been taking a look at possibly trying some internship program stuff for recent graduates that ppl have told me about. get some "global experience" as they say...but yeah i checked out some links n like 98% of the positions say they've been filled/cancelled already, so there was like only 1 that looked interesting; some gig in China, but i'd have to fly out to St. John's Newfoundland first i think to hook up w/ the organization responsible for it, but yeah...i pray that the doors will open or close in such a way that i'll be able to discern which direction to head towards.

hopefully figure out exactly when i'll be using up my free HMY ticket real soon...tentatively thinking i'll fly over on Feb. 16th, visit 'Loo till the weekend, then head out to TO on saturday or something n just chill till the 23rd or so. that is, as long as something doesn't come up in between now & then.

Tuesday, January 11 2005

parents didn't feel like cooking tonight so we went for dinner at some korean place ("Hoonwari"). not bad, had lots of beef. that was good. anyway, guess i haven't taken the time to actlly sit around n "chill" w/ my parents for a while since they were gone during the holidays & pretty much went straight back to work after they returned, so it was interesting when my mom mentioned how she's reading some book, n that after she reads it at night before she goes to sleep she tends to sleep pretty well. she's usu. always complaining about not sleeping well so i ask her what book - "Intimate Death" she says. huh?! ok...me n my dad nearly choked on our kimchi...a book w/ the title "Intimate Death" helps you sleep better at night?! O_o but yeah, so my mom went on to explain...

Intimate Death - How the Dying Teach Us How to Live
By Marie de Hennezel (translated by Carol Janeway)

written by a (French) psychologist who cared for terminally ill patients in a palliative care unit, it reads like a journal/diary. from Amazon.com:

"How do we learn to die? Most of us spend our lives avoiding that question, but this luminous book--a major best-seller in France--answers it with a directness and eloquence that are nothing less than transforming. As a psychologist in a hospital for the terminally ill in Paris, Marie de Hennezel has spent seven years tending to people who are relinquishing their hold on life. She tells the stories of her patients and their families. de Hennezel teaches us how to turn death--our loved ones' or our own--from something lonely and agonizing into a sacred passage. She discusses the importance of an honest reckoning, the value of ritual, the necessity of touch. In imparting these lessons, Intimate Death becomes a guide to living more fully, more intensely, than we had thought possible."

interesting...i think i'll give it a read when she's done w/ it. o yeah, the korean bbq was good. they had some honey-potatoe thing too...mmmm...did i mention there was lots of beef?

Wednesday, January 12 2005

after eating all that korean bbq last night (plus finishing off a tub of cherry/chocolate ice cream when i got home from dinner...and that sandwich before bed) i thought i'd go do some exercise today. originally wanted to go for a swim, but i've been kinda sick the past few days n didn't wanna make it worse so i thought maybe i'd just go to the gym. buddy tells me to go try out his gym w/ him since he's a member n i could try it out for free if i went w/ him:

i've always been aware of the "Gold's" name & reputation, but until the last few years there haven't been that many Canadian locations. most of the guys there are the hardcore lifters, most of 'em are on something too; either massive supplements or crank (steroids). it was a relatively new facility, nice equipment, clean, spacious, n it costs around $40/month. so i start thinking; even if i get to go to BCIT for free, i still have to pay $3 parking each time i go (if i go more than 13 times in a month i've already payed for a Gold's membership), so i actually think $40/month for a membership @ Gold's is worth it since they got better equipment (a lot nicer/cleaner than nasty stank ass school gyms too, i.e. UW's PAC/BCIT's Fit Pit) & it's just a better gym environment overall. just a bit of a drive that's all...nyeh...maybe i'll think about it.

went to check out guitars again w/ eric n his lil bro, lil jeffrey picked up an epiphone (some crazy model that i have no clue about...i just know it has a lotta cool buttons n stuff), n i checked out prices on my warlock down @ Westcoast Music. didn't have my model in stock, n their retail selling price was pretty hefty so it looks like i'll be getting my gear from L&M afterall.

Thursday, January 13 2005

another lazy day, not much goin on...went around west 4th to check out boarding gear (mainly boots)...bloody expensive!!! yeesh...don't think i'm gonna buy my own gear this year, wouldn't be worth it. hopefully i'll be around for the Snow Show in fall & get some goodies there, or maybe i'll ebay it? hmmm....

caught Blade Trinity late @ night, more just to check out which parts of the BCIT Downtown Campus they used in the film rather than b/c i actually really wanted to see the movie. basically the entire final fight scene was done in the building. still, it wasn't a bad movie; good action, funny, & Jessica Biel's not too bad either...w/ a bow & arrow.

welp...tmrrw...i think it's about time this turtle needs to reacquaint himself w/ the pool, & then maybe night boarding @ Cypress.

the Wanderer - Friday, January 14 2005

so lazy ass didn't go swimming today, decided to stay home & eat whatever i could find; including a couple chunks of that "Baker's Chocolate" stuff (u know, that stuff that's sposed to be for baking)...but mmmm...dark chocolate...so good... buy yeah, so around 1600 i was pretty excited to go boarding since i haven't gone in 3 years - but the way my ass hurts right now maybe i won't be able to go for another 5 years. =P

got there early w/ JB, other ppl hadn't showed up yet so we went for a couple runs first. my rental boots & bindings were ghetto crap, but nyeh i won't use those as an excuse. JB took me down a blue run, few minor wipeouts, then went down a green named "Panorma". halfway down we came to a small clearing & i wanted to take a break n get some photos of the city so i told JB to go on down ahead. he was kinda hesitant about leaving me on the mountain alone, but i thought nothing of it n just told him i'd be down in a bit. so he went, n i got out my camera:

took a lil longer getting down that i expected, didn't see him at the bottom...so i just decided to keep on going. i figured he'd find the others when they got here, they'd go do their runs n i'd just take it easy on my own, so why not just go separately n meet up when it was time to go right? no biggie i thought, so for the next 2 hours or so i just kept taking the lifts up n coming down some of the easier runs, just practice getting back in the groove n getting the rust off my boarding skills. kept an eye out for the others every time i was waiting @ the lifts/on the runs but didn't see 'em. i was doin pretty good, having a good time on my own, then i started getting a lil tired/hungry so i walked down to the lodge/cafeteria to grab a bite. who do i see all distraught looking in front of the lodge? kyle, jacq & JB. they give me this look & i could tell something was coming...they'd been waiting/searching for me the whole time. they'd taken turns w/ one person waiting @ the bottom & the other 2 going up n looking for me as they came down on the runs...they were worried that i might've fallen off some jump/cliff somewhere on the mountain so they were going everywhere looking in ditches n stuff, & after 1.5 hours had passed they even went to the Ski Patrol & reported me missing! i couldn't believe it...hilarious. after getting a burger and having them keep bugging me about how i should have a leash attached to me @ all times, i had to go over to the Ski Patrol & report that i had been "found".

turns out there's 2 sides of the mountain & i had somehow wandered over to the lifts on the other side where they weren't. O_o?? the b.d.b. strikes again. for the rest of the night they said i needed a "chaperone" to make sure i didn't wander off. one thing kinda puzzled me; how'd they expect to spot me when everyone's pretty much looks the same when they're all bundled up in boarding gear, and when it's night time? simple they said. i was the only idiot cruising the mountain wearing a backpack. uy?? i looked around & took notice after they pointed it out...and they were right! nobody had one! i thought it quite peculiar, i mean don't other ppl need to bring "supplies" w/ them while they're on the mountain? i had some drinks, some chocolate, food, etc...i mean, what if i really had gotten lost right? ah well, i guess other ppl just aren't that smart. yeeeeah...

i had plenty of other chances to prove my intelligence that night too. me n JB were walking by some of the lifts n i asked them which lifts they were checking while they were looking for me earlier. he named a couple, none that i recognized, then i told him i was riding on the one named "Poma". he looks @ me n goes:

JB: huh? dude, there's no lift called "poma" around here.

me: no i'm sure! serious, i saw it man, there was this big ass sign w/ lights n everything.

JB: i dunno man, i'm pretty sure there's no lift w/ that name on either side of the mountain...

me: p-o-m-a. no man, i'm sure of it. i seriously remember seeing a sign like that on the lift i was on.

JB: (glances up as we walk past one of the lifts) omg, dude...they're ALL "Poma"! "Poma" is the friggin manufacturer of the lifts! every single friggin lift has one of those signs!

me: (looking at the lift) uy....?? omg...

there on the side of the lift was a huge backlit sign for "POMA", the company that made the lifts. pure genius eh? i knew i'd seen those words before, the image of the sign was carved into my memory, but it wasn't the NAME of the bloody lift, it was the BRAND. yeesh, good thing nobody else asked me which lift i was riding. can u imagine the Ski Patrol asking me what lift i was on? "uh...yeah the POMA one." they'd prbbly think i was trying to be some kinda smartass. my brilliance didn't stop there either, one time when we reached the end of the lift & were just getting off at the top of the mountain, i pushed off on my board but one of the straps from my backpack got caught on the lift & started swinging back around w/ the chair to head back down the mountain. i held onto it for a second but had to drop it, luckily the strap shook loose n the bag fell not too far away. ah...maybe THAT's one of the reasons why ppl don't wear packs while they board. O_o had a number of pretty painful spills too, one during which i thought i'd broken a rib. i caught an edge & fell over on my front side, hard. i heard a crack too. this was just like the time i broke my collarbone, so i immediately popped up n shook my arms around to make sure nothing was broken (i must've looked like an idiot, sitting their wriggling my arms like an octopus), and they moved so that was a good sign. only now, i thought maybe i've broken a rib since i felt so winded & i was still in a bit of pain. lay there for a few seconds...*whew*. ok back to normal. but still, those spills felt a lot more painful than they used to. maybe i'm getting old...body isn't as durable as it used to be, i've abused it too much. used to be able to fall & just pop right back up, now i have to stay down for a few seconds. nyeh...maybe it's just that i haven't been boarding for so long, or cuz of the rock hard patches of ice (there were a few that night), but u know that feeling you get when you've been hit in the nose/facial area real hard? it's almost like a kind of taste/smell that you can feel...like when you're hit so hard you think you've got a bloody nose? yeah, that's what i felt some times when i hit the deck a few times. ouch.

but yeah all in all it was a good night, had a B.C. burger @ the lodge (Bacon & Cheese), boarded till they closed @ 2200, then went home n had some fried noodles. tomorrow...the BIKE SHOW

the Land of Plenty - Saturday, January 15 2005

first off...no, i'm not talking about the University of Western Ontario. that's the land of "milk & honey(s)". nonono, today's visit involved beauties of a different nature: the fuel-injected, chrome-plated, carbon fiber-clad, bikini-faired "ladies" of the Vancouver Motorcycle Show!

(damn, my wrists are killing me, feel all swollen from breaking yesterday's falls...)

mr. vuong slept in, n cookie got called in to work, so it turned out being just me n ed @ the show, one of my boyz from the early ages of MacCorkindale Elementary. good times. but yeah, didn't really feel like taking many pictures this time, didn't see any good deals on gear either. guess times are changing, too many places you can get stuff for cheap online so the local shops can't keep up. it's been 3 years since i've been to a bike show too. slung a leg over some pretty tricked out rides but decided to refrain from the picture-taking...just seemed too juvenile. HOWEVER...there was one beauty that was just begging to be ridden & i had to capture the moment:
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click HERE for some more of the eye candy observed.

yup. n that pretty much sums up Week II.